Get a Clue!
by NoChildofMine
Summary: The gang helps put together a mystery dinner for charity, but winds up a part of one! Follows the clues, and figure out "who done it".
1. Default Chapter

Howdy! This is my first fic in a while. I've been so busy with college and whatnot. Anyway, this takes places just after the Duelist Kingdom. This is a mystery story, follow the clues and see if you can figure out who "done it". Just for the record, I took a couple of author's liberties. For example, I gave Joey a car. Enjoy!  
Disclaimer: This comes as a surprise to no one, I don't own Yu-gi-oh or the game Clue. I also used a couple of song lyrics. I own the band that used them though! (just kidding, boy I wish I did, hehehe)  
  
  
  
  
"Joseph Wheeler! This is your last warning!" the teacher screamed, pointing her finger threateningly at the boy. He had been sending airborne spitballs at Tristen.  
Joey smirked. "Sorry Mrs. D," he said in a phony tone.  
Her eyes narrowed at him, "don't push it today." With that, she returned to her book-led lecture on chemical compounds. It was a brisk winter day, the bare trees outside the classroom window swayed in the nipping wind. The mood of the warm classroom was a sleepy stupor. Tristen was doodling in his notebook, turning to look over his shoulder at Joey every few minutes. Tea was slumped over a pile of books, daydreaming. Kaiba was taking notes from the board. Bakura was attempting to make his pencil stand up on its eraser, with little success. Yugi played with the rope around his neck, the memories of the Duelist Kingdom still fresh in him mind. Joey was crumpling little bits of notebook paper. The silent sluggishness was broken by a knock on the door.   
"Ah, here she is" Mrs. Davidson said, walking briskly over to open it. In walked a timid girl wearing the Domino school uniform. It was obvious that she was new. Her deep green eyes shown with nervousness as she looked around the room.   
"Hello dear, I was wondering where you were" Mrs. Davidson said.  
The girl looked down and tucked her hair behind her ear, "I'm sorry, I got lost." Her hair was blonde with shocking pink streaks like me!.   
The teacher nodded, "that's alright. It's your first day. Class.... I'd like you to meet a new student: Metanoia." She smiled and gave a shy hello. "Why don't you sit in the empty desk between Joey and Tristen?"  
"There goes my footrest," Joey complained, removing his feet from the chair in front of him.  
"Anyway" the teacher continued, ignoring him, "as I was saying about Carbon based..."  
  
"Lucky you came along, otherwise Joey would still be shooting spitballs at me" Tristen joked. Metanoia laughed. It was break time, and the group of friends had gathered around their new classmate.   
Tea, Bakura, and Tristen introduced themselves.  
"Well, I'm here, what were your other two wishes?" Joey said, trying to sound suave.   
"I know what my next one will be" she retorted playfully.  
Yugi tried to change the subject. "Um hello, I'm Yugi Moto."  
"Hi. That's one very large necklace, into the bling bling, eh?" she pointed to his Puzzle. "I could swear I've seen you before".   
"Um well, It's kinda a good luck charm for when I play duel monsters"  
She looked at him in shock, "now I remember! You're one who beat Pegasus, the creator of duel monsters! That rocks!"  
"Yea, and I was a finalist!" Joey chimed in, hoping for the same reaction.   
"Do you play too?" Bakura asked.  
Metanoia dug through her backpack, and took out a little velvet, purple drawstring bag with silver stars on it. She opened it up and took out a fairly thick deck. "Anybody wanna have a game?"  
Before her classmates could answer, the teacher stood up in front of the room. "Ok everyone! Back to your seats."  
"Dude, I really wanted to duel" Metanoia moaned.   
"You free after school?" Bakura asked.  
"Well, you see I got this...." she began.  
"Now" Mrs. Davidson boomed. The students begrudgingly returned to their desks. She smiled, "now I have something fun to announce."  
"Fun?" Joey remarked. "What could possibly be fun?"   
Metanoia shot him an annoyed look.  
"One of your fellow students is helping run a mystery dinner party for charity. The money will go towards the local orphanage."  
Joey squealed, "Is it a costume party? Can I be a little ghost? I got a sheet at home and my mommy can cut holes in it."  
Tristen tried to contain a laugh.  
"Can it Wheeler" Kaiba snapped.  
"The party will be held up in the old Kearny Mansion."  
"The Kearny Mansion? But that place is so run down" Tea pointed out.  
Mrs. Davidson smiled again, "and that's where you come in. Metanoia is looking for people to help her clean up the old house for the party. Any volunteers?"  
"Right here!" Joey yelled, raising his hand.  
"You can put that sheet to good use" Metanoia snapped, still a little angry at his comments.  
"I'll help" Tristen raised his hand.  
"Same here" Bakura added.  
"Count me in" Tea said.  
"Me too" Yugi chimed in.  
"I'll help", a solemn voice said from the back of the room. The gang spun around. In a very uncharacteristic move, Kaiba had volunteered.  
Yugi was puzzled, he turned to Bakura nearby. "I wonder why Kaiba would offer to help, that's not like him at all." Bakura shrugged in response.  
"It's wonderful that so many of you offered to help", Mrs. Davidson exclaimed. Be sure to talk to her after school for details."   
  
After what seemed like an eternity, the final bell sounded. Joey walked up to Metanoia. "Um, sorry about the jokes, I didn't know you were running it."  
She shook her head, "that's ok. I'm running it to try to save the orphanage on Canal Street. It's losing money and the owner of the property it's on wants to tear it down."  
Tea gasped, "that's horrible!"  
Metanoia nodded, "the worst part is, those kids might have to be shipped out to other orphanages in other cities. The Canal Street Children's House has become their home. I would hate for them to have to leave it."  
"We'll help in any way that we can" Yugi reassured her. The group agreed.   
"So what day is this clean up set for?" Kaiba had strolled up quietly to join the group.  
"Hey Kaiba, how come you wanna be a nice guy all of a sudden?" Tristen asked provokingly.  
He glared at him, "none of your business."  
Metanoia took out a pile of index cards from her pack. "Hey, hey guys. Leave Seto be." She started handing out the cards. Everyone, Kaiba especially, was surprised that she knew his first name. He was about to ask her if they had met before, but he was interrupted.  
"What are these for?" Bakura asked.  
"That's the address for my apartment. I thought we could meet up there. I have all the supplies we need at my place. Is Saturday at 9 ok with everybody?"   
"Sounds good to me" Tea said, everyone nodded.  
"So much for Saturday morning cartoons" Tristen groaned.   
  
"411...412...413..." Joey counted.  
"Wrong way Joey, we're looking for 403" Bakura chuckled.  
"Yea, well...I knew that..." he spun around and started following them. The gang was searching the hallway for Metanoia's apartment. They were all dressed in rather shabby clothes.  
"Hey Yugi, did you get in touch with Mai?" Bakura asked.  
"Yea, she couldn't make it. But she asked if we could reserve her ticket for the dinner."  
Joey scoffed, "prolly didn't want to get dirty."  
Tea looked down the narrow hall, "I guess everybody's here". Kaiba was getting off the elevator. It was odd to see the young business in jeans and a beat up T-shirt. Mokuba got off right after him. He waved at the sight of them, "hi guys!"  
"Hey Mokuba, you're coming too?" Yugi asked.  
He nodded, "sure am."  
Suddenly one of the doors opened, Metanoia stood there, dressed in torn up jeans and a bandana on her head. "Howdy, come on in." Her face lit up when she saw the little boy. "Mokuba! Long time no see kiddo." She led them into a small, but nice apartment, made up of only a few rooms. "I got bagels so just help yourselves."  
Bakura looked around, "this place is kinda small. Where do your parents stay?"  
She poured herself a glass of OJ, "haven't got them." Everyone paused.  
"You mean you live here by yourself? But what..." Yugi's voice trailed off.  
"Yea, I live by myself. As for my parents, that's they reason I'm helping organize this dinner to save the children's home, I used to live there. I got the apartment because the home can't house children over a certain age, so the town provides money for me to get a place of my own. Mrs. Calisto and Mr. McBride are in charge at the Canal Street House and..."  
"Hey!" Mokuba interrupted, "we used to live there!"  
Metanoia smiled, "yep. We used to hang out together there."  
"I thought you looked familiar" Kaiba commented, giving a rare smile.  
Mokuba ran over and gave her a hug. "Yea I remember you too! You helped me get up after being hit by a dodgeball."  
She laughed, "yea, you got beaned pretty bad." She glanced up at the clock. "Jeez, we gotta get going, I told Mr. Brown we'd be there by 9:30. Grab a broom and a few dust rags and lets go!" 


	2. chapter 2

On the way over, the Kaiba brothers and Metanoia chatted about their days at the children's home, Yugi pushed a garbage cart, Bakura and Tea struggled to carry cans of paint, while Joey and Tristen attempted to whack each other with their brooms.   
"Isn't it weird how they used to live in the same orphanage?" Tea commented.  
Yugi nodded. "Yea. Well, that explains why he wanted to help."  
"Look up there" Bakura said, pointing with his paint bucket up the hill. At the top stood a lone, grand Victorian house. It's chipping green paint reflected its age. The darken windows and silence in the air created an eerie feeling. "Cheery place huh?" he chuckled.  
"It doesn't look at that bad" Tea said hopefully, "I mean, none of the windows are broken."  
"The city has done some repairs to it. I think they are going to put it up for sale soon" Metanoia explained. She walked up onto the creaky porch and set down her supplies. She was about to turn the handle on the door, when it suddenly opened! Everyone jumped.  
"Hello there kids" a man, who looked to be in his early 30's, chirped. "Glad to see you got so many helpers Metanoia."  
She breathed a sigh of relief, "hello Mr. Brown. Thanks for letting us in."  
He stepped aside and ushered them in. "Not a problem at all, I had to drop by anyway. I must be going, I've got a lot of paperwork to complete down at city hall. Good luck with your cleaning." Mr. Brown picked up his coat and a briefcase and hurried out the door, stopping briefly to smile at the young workers.  
Metanoia continued into the house, and flipped on a nearby light switch. Instantly, the shadowy halls filled with light. The main hall was splendid, with its tall ceiling and chandelier. On the walls were many sets of elegant double doors, and in the center was a large staircase. The gang gazed about the antique house in awe. The building did look a bit run down, some paint was peeling, and a good dusting was badly needed. But overall, it looked somewhat well kept.  
"Nice place" Joey remarked, "and really big...this is going to take awhile."  
"The house has 5 floors, do we have to clean all of them?" Mokuba asked, in a rather disappointed tone.  
"No, not all. Just the first floor and two rooms on the second, enough for the party" Metanoia replied. She paused, "as a matter of fact, he made it quite clear that he didn't want us going to any other part of the house. I think the floorboards are unsafe."  
"Well then," Bakura said, putting down his heavy load, "let's get to work."  
  
"Ahh chooo!" Tea sneezed. She and Yugi were dusting the furniture in the dining room.  
"Bless you" Bakura and Tristen responded, they were painting the cocktail room.  
"Don't die" Joey said, polishing the gold chandelier up on a ladder.  
Kaiba was vacuuming the runner carpet in the hall, while Mokuba wiped down the banister on the stairs. The blonde boy looked down from his perch, "hey Kaiba! All you need now is one of those little French maid dresses! Ha ha!" Kaiba didn't say anything, but on his way past the ladder, he gave it a hit with the vacuum, causing Joey to temporarily lose his balance. "Watch it!" he shouted, grabbing onto the frame with both hands. Metanoia giggled, she was playing with the dials on a boom box she had brought. When she found a station she liked, she picked up a roller and joined Bakura and Tristen.  
A catchy rock beat played from the radio. Metanoia began to sing, "Dead...on my head...wasting time on my own... sleep...rescue me...take me back to my home..."  
Bakura joined in, "for the times...that you wanna go and...bust rhymes real slow..."  
"I'll appear...slap you on the face...and enjoy the show!" Joey wailed.  
Kaiba groaned, "you sound like a dying cat Wheeler."  
Joey huffed, "who asked you?" he snapped, turning around and knocking his can of polish off the ladder. It fell and knocked in a panel on the banister.  
"Nice job Joey" Tea laughed.  
Yugi chuckled, "we're trying to clean the place up, not break it apart."  
The song ended, and a loud metal song pounded throughout the house. Mokuba put down his rag, "can I change the station?"  
"Sure thing kiddo," Metanoia called from the other room, "go ahead."  
As he was coming down the stairs, he noticed something shiny in the broken panel. Curious, he reached inside and pulled out a pretty gold necklace with a charm on it. He examined his new find. Metanoia entered the room, "what ya got there?"  
"A necklace I found in there" he answered, pointing to the panel.  
"Wow, it's lovely. Can I see it?" Mokuba held it out for her to see. On a gold oval, was the colorful picture of a sun and moon with stars. "Lucky find" she commented.  
He looked down for a second, "I want you to have it. It would look nice on you," he said shyly.  
She smiled, "thanks Mokuba. That's sweet." She put it in her pocket, then knelt down and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  
"Awww!" Joey sing-songed. Mokuba glared at him, wiping his cheek off with his sleeve on his way over to the boom box. He flipped the dial. Static gave way to a woman with a nasally voice singing to an airy tune, "...lucky that my lips not only mumble, they spill kisses like a fountain..."  
"Oh! Keep this one on!" Metanoia chirped, starting to dance around.  
"Spare me" Yugi moaned.  
Metanoia ignored him, "come on Tea, I know you like to dance!" Tea shuffled over to her, swiveling her hips rhythmically.  
"Come on ladies, this house isn't going to clean itself" Bakura interrupted playfully.  
Metanoia danced over to him, and made a handprint with her paint-covered hand on his back.  
"Hey!" he laughed, trying to touch her with his paintbrush.  
"Try aiming for the wall Bakura" Tea giggled.  
Tristen walked up behind her. "Oops!" he said, leaving a handprint on her face.   
Yugi, who had come into the room to watch the 'fight', laughed. "Yellow looks good on you Tea."  
"Think that's funny do ya?" she growled, putting her hand in the paint tray and going after him.  
Mokuba, not wanting to be left out, hurried in and dipped both hands in a bucket. He turned to Kaiba. "Gimmie me a hug Seto!" he cried, running over to him. Kaiba laughed and tried to run, but was quickly caught. "Gotcha!" he yelled. 


	3. chapter 3

"I think we got more paint on each other than the wall" Yugi laughed, he was walking with Joey, Tristen and Tea to the Joey's car. It was a week later, the night of the dinner, and everyone was dressed in their finest. For their help, the group got half price tickets. The guys wore jackets and ties, while Tea wore an elegant, sapphire dress.   
"Now to pick up Mai and Bakura," Joey asked, as they hopped into the car.  
Tea pulled her shawl over her shoulders, "this party is going to be fun. Hey! It's starting to snow!" she pointed out the window at the falling flakes.  
"The weather forecast is calling for a lot of snow. It should only start to pick up in the early morning, so it won't really effect the party" Yugi added.  
Tristen nodded, "Fun sure, but this whole 'color' thing from the invitations is a little weird though". He pointed to his white jacket with slight disdain.  
"It's supposed to be a theme. We're supposed to be characters from the board game Clue" Yugi, in a dark yellow suit, explained.  
Joey, in a hunter green suit, shook his head. "One thing I don't get: how come we all got colors, and Tea got an invitation with a bird on it?" he mused. Everyone groaned.   
"Um Joey? Peacock is a kind of blue" Tea answered with a sigh.  
"Knew that, knew that" he retorted.  
Just then, they pulled up to Mai's apartment building. Mai, dressed in a sexy scarlet gown, was waiting outside. She hurried over to the car, "hi guys. Shuffle over Yugi, thanks." She noticed he wasn't wearing his Millenium puzzle. "Decided to leave Yami at home tonight huh?  
He smiled, "he wasn't really interested in coming."  
They pulled up to Bakura's house, he too was waiting outside. "Hey" he greeted them, getting in. He wore a deep purple suit.  
Tristen chuckled, "doesn't Professor Plum have a pipe?"  
"Isn't White a woman?" he shot back with a smile.   
Tristen frowned, he hadn't thought of that.  
  
"Here we are" Joey announced, putting on the break and turning off the engine. The house looked even spookier at night. It loomed high up on the hill; the only sign of warmth was in the lights coming from the first floor.  
Mai heels clicked on the sidewalk, "let's hurry up and get inside, it's freezing out here!"  
Joey groaned, "look who arrived in style."   
A limo pulled up next to them. Kaiba, dressed in a fancy black tuxedo, opened the door. "Be back by midnight," he instructed the driver.  
"Or he'll turn into a pumpkin" Joey chuckled.  
"Hi Kaiba" Yugi greeted him.  
Tristen huffed, "how come he gets a cool color?"  
Kaiba looked him over for a second, "isn't White a woman character?" he asked with a smirk.  
He frowned, "so I've been told."  
The group headed up the wooden stairs. Before anyone could knock, a thin, balding man dressed in a deep yellow suit and shiny gold tie opened the door. "Good evening everyone! You must be Metanoia's friends, who helped clean up the other day?"  
"That's us," Joey said proudly.  
The man smiled, "wonderful! My name is Charles McBride. Do come in." He stepped aside and let the teens walk in. The halls looked a lot nicer than when they had first walked in. The place was warm and well lit, and much more welcoming. In the adjacent rooms, other colorfully dressed guests chatted over glasses of wine. McBride motioned to the group, "come in the kitchen. Metanoia is waiting for you, and Susan would love to meet you." They followed him through a sea of guests. Suddenly, Bakura accidentally bumped into someone.  
"Oh! I'm sorry" he apologized.   
The person was a very beautiful young woman, wearing a bronze gown, and a scowl. "Watch where you're going!" she snapped at him, taking a smug sip from her wineglass as she walked away.  
Joey imitated a hissing cat, Tea giggled.  
"Well I didn't mean to..." Bakura rounded a corner, and knocked right into Metanoia.  
"Heads up there Bakura" he said, trying to regain balance of the large tray of appetizers she was carrying. She wore a long, pale pink dress, and looked quite pretty. He was rather taken aback, both literally and figuratively.  
"You...look...really nice" she managed to get out.  
"Thanks" she said, not paying too much attention. "Hi everybody, glad you could make it, excuse me for a second" she zipped past them and into another room.  
Tristen poked him playfully in the ribs with his elbow.  
"As you can see, it's rather busy around here" a cheerful woman echoed from the kitchen. A rather full figured woman in a sparkling silver dress came to the door to meet them. She had a look of kindness on her face. "I'm Susan Calisto. Charles and I run the Canal Street Home."  
Everyone introduced himself or herself.  
"Oh it's fabulous to meet you. Metanoia was so happy to have so many volunteers, and new friends." She looked to the back of the crowd. "Seto dear! I haven't seen you since you were...well, shorter than me!" He smiled shyly.  
"I really don't see why the dinner had to be here, I could easily have arranged for the veterans hall to..." Brown said to McBride as they walked out of the kitchen.  
"I told you before Robert," McBride interrupted, "it's for atmosphere. The house has a sense of mystery to it already, what with the legend of the treasure and all".  
Brown turned to argue further, but noticed the teens. "Hello again" he said, sounding much more friendly. "If you'll excuse me, I need to speak with someone" he moved through the crowd towards the cocktail room.  
Metanoia returned, holding a pile of envelopes, which she began giving out to everyone. She handed Mai hers. "You must be Mai Valentine, nice to meet you. Now remember guys, don't read past the first piece of paper" she instructed.  
"Same here, are these our characters?" Mai asked opening hers.  
She nodded, "sure are. By the way Seto, check it out," she held out her necklace, it was the one Mokuba had given her. "What can I say? It matched my earrings perfectly."  
He grinned, "Mokuba would love to hear that."  
"We don't need help in here anymore Metanoia. Why don't you and your friends get some snacks?" Calisto suggested.  
"Sounds like a great idea to me!" Joey exclaimed. He had been eyeing the food on the tray Metanoia was carrying earlier.  
  
"Check this out: I'm the son of a senator hoping to run for office soon" Yugi read aloud. They were all sitting around the lounge in the overstuffed couches.  
Tea read hers: "I'm famous actress on vacation back in her hometown after making a hit new movie."  
A woman in yellow, who had been listening, laughed. "You got a interesting character. I'm just the wife of a stockbroker."  
A man in a tan jacket walked up to her and handed her a wineglass. "My real job is much more interesting" he smiled. "I'm the chief of police, Officer Wingfield."  
"Yea, I know who you are" Mai commented. "I saw your picture in the paper. You're performing investigation or something like that."   
Just then, the woman in bronze entered the room, on the arm of a tough looking man. Joey scoffed, "Miss Cheerful is back."  
"You must mean Miss Stone" Officer Wingfield said. He nodded, "that's who I'm investigating. Miss Stone has some company funds missing, and her boyfriend's suddenly got a new car and new house." Miss Stone was shooting him malevolent looks from across the room.  
Brown shuffled over, "is everyone enjoying themselves?"  
"We were" Metanoia said scornfully, looking at Stone. "She owns the property that the Children's Home is on."  
"That's true" Brown agreed. "Sad to say, I hear she wants to knock it down to build a shopping mall."  
"That's disgraceful!" Kaiba growled. "If she wants to get rid of the Home so bad, why did she come at all?!"  
"Judging by her complaining I'd say her boyfriend, Brad Timbers, 'dragged' her here," Mrs. Wingfield concluded.  
Bakura looked out the window. "Wow, the snow is really starting to pick up. I hope the plows get out there soon."  
A bell rang in the hallway. "Everyone please make your way to the living room" Mrs. Calisto chimed.  
  
"I hate to inform you all, but our host, Mr. Body has been found dead!" McBride announced dramatically.  
"Really?" Joey asked.  
Mai groaned, "it's part of the game" she explained".  
McBride continued, "the only clues left behind is this duel monsters card, and a vile of poison." He held up a "Change of Heart" card. "One among us tonight is the murderer! It's your job to talk with the other guests, and try to uncover the truth."  
"As for now, dinner is served" Brown announced. The guests laughed at this sudden change in conversation.  
"I wonder if the card is a clue to the murder, or the motive?" Tea mused.  
Yugi agreed, "didn't your character once work for Mr. Body Tristen? You might have wanted revenge," he said in a mock spooky voice.  
Joey shrugged, "who cares? I'm starved." They all looking around the table for their place cards.   
Without warning, a woman's high pitched scream echoed from the other room, followed by a loud thud. Everyone ran into the hall. The ax once held by a suit of armor had fallen, barely missing Officer Wingfield!  
Mrs. Wingfield helped up her husband. He had dove to miss being hit. "Are you ok dear?" she asked worriedly.  
He brushed himself off, "I'm fine, I must have knocked into it on my way past."  
A man in a gray suit shook his head, "that's a rather dangerous prop Susan."  
She didn't answer, a look of horror was spread across her face. "That wasn't a prop Luis," McBride explained, looking puzzled. 


	4. chapter 4

Brown tried to ease the situation. "Accidents happen. I'm glad you're all right Wingfield. Why don't we all sit down to dinner?" The guests all walked back into the dining room, except for the teens.  
Kaiba was examining the suit's hands. He held out the fingers, "these look like someone used a tool of sort to pry them open."  
"Looks rather suspicious to me" Tristen, "like it wasn't an accident."  
Yugi shook his head. "But who would want to hurt Officer Wingfield?"  
"Maybe him" Joey pointed to the dinning room. Trying to not be noticed, Brad Timbers crept out of an adjacent room and took his place at the table. Everyone was so distracted by conversation, that only Miss Stone noticed his return.  
Mai crossed her arms. "Where do you suppose he was?"  
Joey's stomach growled. "Could we continue this conversation after dinner?"  
Everyone headed into eat, except for Metanoia. She bent down and picked up a small, crumpled piece of paper and put it in her handbag.  
What's that?" Bakura asked.  
"Don't know" she answered, "we'll check it out later. Right now, I'm thinking that soup looks pretty good."  
  
After the meal, the gang sat in a more secluded part of the house to talk.  
"That ax left a pretty big dent in the floor" Metanoia sighed, "I hope we don't have to take money out of the dinner income to pay for it."  
"I don't think that...." Tristen started, but stopped suddenly.  
"What is it?" Yugi asked. Tristen held up his finger and his other hand to his ear. The echoes of two women's voices were coming from the hall. The group listened intently.  
"Really Susan! This dinner isn't going to help! The House is loosing money and isn't worth keeping open!" one of the woman shrieked.  
"Stone" Kaiba whispered.  
Mrs. Calisto breathed deep, "but Sandra, think of the children! The Canal Street House is more than that to them, it's there home. Please reconsider..."  
"No!" the harsh tempered woman cried. "That 'home' you call it is sitting on valuable property. Downtown locations are not cheap, and it's lawfully mine to do with it want I want! I'm giving you a week to come up with the rent you owe."  
Calisto gasped, "one week! Sandra we couldn't possibly..."  
"One week" she bellowed. "I don't care how many bake sales you have to hold, I want my money!" She turned to walk away, than paused. "One more thing, if any of your payments are late again, there won't be nearly as nice as I'm being now." With that, she stormed off.  
"'Nice?!'" Metanoia practically screeched. "That posh, stuck up, little..."  
"Keep it down!" Joey warned her.  
She sat back and crossed her arms. "Stone really wants to tear that place down, it's not her money she's after."  
"Speaking of money" Kaiba added, "she's being investigated for embezzlement of her clothing company, by none other than Officer Wingfield, who just almost met with a suspicious accident..."  
"And her boyfriend was sneaking back to the dinning room right after it happened." Yugi caught on.  
"Sounds like Stone might not have been 'dragged' here tonight at all" Tea mused.  
Bakura suddenly thought of something. "Hey Metanoia, what about that paper you found?"  
"Oh yea, let me take get it" she began digging through her bag.  
All at once, the lights went out, and the house was plunged into darkness.  
"Huh? What gives?!" Joey demanded, trying to stumble out of his seat.  
"Watch those hands Wheeler" Mai warned, she had been sitting next to him.  
A dim source of light entered the room. It was Mrs. Calisto with a candle from the dinner table. "Are you kids alright?"  
"We're fine" Metanoia told her, carefully stepping around the tea table towards her.  
"Oh dear, you haven't seen Robert have you?" she asked worriedly.  
"Mr. Brown? No we haven't," Kabia replied. "Why?"  
She took a deep breath, "because I can't find him anywhere! One minute he was standing next to me. Then the lights went out, and he disappeared!" 


	5. chapter 5

Mrs. Calisto was getting more and more upset. "I checked all the other rooms on the floor. It isn't like him to just walk off...and with the other accident we almost had...."  
Metanoia tried to calm her down. "Don't get yourself in a panic Mrs. Susan. I'm sure he just went to fix the fuse box or something."  
"Yea" Joey added, "we could go look for him."  
"Oh would you? Thank you so much" she started to calm down.  
Metanoia, Yugi, Joey, and Tristen got flashlights from the kitchen and headed for the basement. Meanwhile Tea, Mai, Kaiba, and Bakura helped light candles around the house.  
"Mr. Brown? Are you down here?" Tristen called into the cold cellar.  
"Heels...and creaky wooden stairs...don't make a very good..." Metanoia stumbled a bit, "combination." She was trying to hold her dress up to avoid getting dust on it, and shine her light to see where she was going at the same time.  
Searching the back wall, Joey found the fuse box. "Hmm, all the fuses seem to be fine. The power must have been knocked out by the storm," he concluded, shutting the door.  
"But where's Brown?" Yugi asked, aiming the beam of light around the room.  
Tristen shrugged, "well he's definitely not down here."  
Tea was waiting for them at the door to the cellar, "no luck?"  
"Nope," Joey said, "but we did find out that it wasn't a blown fuse that caused the blackout."  
Metanoia groaned, "just great."  
Kaiba took a flashlight from Yugi, "I'll check outside. Maybe he went out to smoke or something."  
"I'll go with ya" Joey offered, starting to follow him.  
"I don't need your help Wheeler," he said coldly, slamming the kitchen door.  
"Excuse me" Joey snapped.  
Metanoia shivered, "I hope the power comes back on so we can have some heat."  
"We got a fire going in the living room" Tea suggested. "Let's head in there."  
In the living room, Officer Wingfield was rotating a log in the fireplace with a metal rod. McBride was on the phone, with Calisto listening to his conversation carefully. Stone was on the couch with her boyfriend, looking miffed as usual. The fire lit the room with a soft orange glow. Mai stood right next to it, rubbing her arms.  
"This feels good after being in that dank basement" Metanoia said, standing over by it. Mai handed her handbag back to her. "Oh that reminds me!" she exclaimed, digging through it. She unfolded the greasy piece of paper, and held it out to the firelight.  
"What is it?" Yugi asked, trying to look over her shoulder.  
Bakura read off its contents. "The number two, red. The number three, blue. The number four and five, green. And "first and basement empty" is scribbled at the bottom. That makes no sense."  
"Maybe it's a type of code" Tristen suggested.  
Suddenly, the kitchen door slammed. Kaiba, his feet caked with snow, came storming the room.  
"Did you..." Mrs. Calisto started, but she stopped when she saw the look of urgency on his face.  
"I checked power cables on the side of the house" he explained, "and they've been cut."  
McBride hung up the phone. "Bad news everyone" he informed the party, "town hall says the plows can't make it up her for a few more hours, they have to clean the main streets first. We're stuck here."  
The other guests began to complain. McBride tried to calm them down. "People please! This is no reason to panic. The plows will have the streets cleared soon enough."  
"Well I'm leaving now" a woman in ivory huffed, turning to get her coat.  
"I wouldn't suggest that" Kaiba told her, "there's almost a foot out there. Your car won't get far."  
"But there's no heat, someone is missing, and there's someone out there...or worse...in here who's out to get us!" she screeched.  
"Miss Salazar, there's no evidence that the ax was anything more than accident. Plus, Mr. Brown has to be around here somewhere" McBride reassured her.  
"What about the cut wires?" the man in gray asked.  
"Well I don't know.... that is to say..." he stuttered, wringing his hands nervously.  
"I'm going outside to checkout those wires" Officer Wingfield told them, he headed for the hall to get his coat.  
"I'll go looking for Mr. Brown upstairs" Metanoia volunteered, trying to put an end to some of the guests' worries.  
"We'll go too" Kaiba offered.  
Calisto nodded, "do be careful dears. Mind the floor boards."  
  
Yugi, Bakura, and Joey had decided to join them.  
"Who ever cut the power must still be in the house" Kaiba told them as they climbed the staircase. "The footprints led to the cut wires and back into the house."  
"I'll bet good money it was Timbers," said Joey.  
"Can't be, he was with the other guests in the cocktail room then, according to Wingfield" Bakura argued.  
The teens came to the second floor and starting walking down the hall, checking each room.  
"But then who?" Yugi mused.  
"I'd hate to think there's someone else other than Timbers..." Metanoia's voice trailed off. She was concentrating on something her flashlight found.  
"What is it?" Yugi asked curiously, following her gaze to the floor.  
"The carpet is red." She carefully reached into the front of her dress, and took out the paper again.  
Joey laughed, "why do girls put things down there?"  
Metanoia shot him a ticked off look. "I don't have pockets, and I wanted to keep it safe" she retorted, unfolding it. She looked over it again, "two, red." Without a word, she took off up the stairs. The boys followed, eager to find out what she was up to. Metanoia began quickly checking the floor of each room with her light. She stopped at a room with a sky blue carpet. "This is starting to make sense. The house has five floors, the note is pointing out certain rooms in the house for some reason."  
Joey walked into the room. He paused for a moment, "didn't McBride say something about a treasure before to Mr. Brown?"  
"Supposedly there's a treasure like money or something hidden in the house by the first owner, General Kearny. It's only a myth though." Kaiba explained.  
Joey scratched his head, "maybe Timbers is looking for it. The rooms he wrote down must be the ones he already searched."  
Metanoia disagreed. "It sounds more like he wrote down those rooms to remind himself of something, like he hid something in them."  
Joey opened the drawer to a dust old dresser. "One way to find out. Let's look around."  
"Where's supposed to be looking for Brown" Bakura reminded them.  
"Then you go" Joey told him, continuing his search.  
Bakura and Metanoia went to look for Brown on the other floors. Yugi, Joey and Kaiba however scoured the room.   
"Good thing we didn't have to dust up here" Yugi choked, waving away cloud of dust with his hand. He was looking behind a painting on the wall, Joey kept opening drawers. Kaiba was tapping the floorboards with the heel of his shoe.  
"Hey Kaiba, a little help here?" Joey snapped at him. "Exactly what are you doing?"  
He didn't answer, just continued his tapping.   
Yugi flipped over to picture. "Hey, there's something written on the other side." He read it to himself, "looks like a riddle. It looks like it was written here a while ago though, so I don't think it has anything to do with..."  
"Quiet!" Kaiba ordered. He hit the same board again. Instead of the usual hollow knock, it sounded more solid. He knelt down and starting pulling up the board. It slid aside easily.  
"Hey! I think you're onto something!" Yugi exclaimed, kneeling down next to him.  
Under the board, were a few brick shaped packages wrapped in newspaper and string. Joey began poking at one. "What are they?" he mused. His poking caused one to rip, and a very small plastic ziplock bag fell out. It contained a pure white, powdery substance. Joey picked it up, only to have Kaiba knock it out of his hand.  
"Moron! Don't you know what those are!?" he yelled Joey, "dime bags!"  
"Drugs?" Yugi wondered, "Timbers is hiding drugs in here?"  
"That could explain where his new car came from" Joey scoffed.  
Kaiba shook his head. He took a handkerchief from his pocket, and wrapped up one of the bags. Then, he carefully replaced the board.   
"What's that for?" Joey asked him.  
"In case the drugs are moved, this way we still have evidence. We're not even sure the note is his. Just to be on the safe side, let's not let on that we know anything about this. Let's try and trace whose note it is first."  
  
"Mr. Brown, are you up here?" Metanoia called into the darkness. She and Bakura had searched every floor with no success. They were in the only place left to look, the attic. It was colder than the other floors. Moonlight leaking through the roof, along with some snow. An open window let a bitter wind blow in.  
"This is insane" Metanoia shivered, "where is he?" Her breath froze as she spoke.   
"The sooner we get out of here, the better" Bakura quivered, rubbing his arms. She starting walking towards the other side of the room. All of a sudden, one of the floorboards under her began to break. Metanoia screamed as she started to fall through. "Careful!" Bakura shouted, pulling her back by the waist. She stumbled to regain her balance, as the board felt through to the other level harmlessly.  
She breathed a sigh of relief, "thanks a lot. That was a close..." He put his hand up to stop her from talking. "What?" she asked, after a few seconds.  
"Did you hear that?" he asked, still trying to listen.  
"No, what?"  
They listened again. This time, a slight moaning noise echoed from the shadows. "That" Bakura said, following the sound. He shown his light into the darkness. There, sitting in a corner, was Mr. Brown. His hands were tied behind his back, and his had a large purple bump on this forehead.  
"Oh no! Mr. Brown are you ok?!" Metanoia cried, running over to him and attempting to free his hands. He only groaned, his head swaying dizzily.  
Loud footsteps thundered outside the room. Suddenly, the other boys ran in.  
"What happened?" Yugi asked out of breath, "we heard a scream and a crash then...Mr. Brown!"  
"Oh man! What happened to him?!" Joey gasped.  
"We don't know" she responded, "give us a hand."  
Kaiba examined the bruise. "He's out cold."  
After untying him, Kaiba and Joey supported him on their shoulders and carrying him down the stairs.  
  
"Oh dear! This is what I feared would happen!" Mrs. Calisto sobbed. They had brought Brown into the kitchen, and sat him up in a chair. McBride put a cold compress to his wound. "This party has turned out to be a disaster!"  
Meanwhile, in another room, Yugi, Joey, and Kaiba let the others in on their find.  
"Dude, Timbers has drugs up there?!" Tristen cried.  
"Keep it down!" Kaiba said forcefully, "we can't let anyone know that we know they're up there. First he have to track down the owner of the note." He looked around to make sure no one was looking, then took out the small package from his coat pocket. He handed it to Metanoia, "keep this in your purse" he told her.  
"What is it?" she asked, doing what she was told.  
"Dime bags" Joey told her, smirking. She didn't look too comfortable to be handling it.  
"I hate to say it", Tea paused, "but that might be the reason Brown was attacked. Maybe he found something and ...someone tried to shut him up."  
"You maybe be right" Mai agreed.  
"Ahhhhh, my head", Brown groaned from the kitchen. The teens entered to find him clutching his aching head, his eyes where still a bit unfocused.  
"Robert! Robert!" Mrs. Calisto squealed, "can you hear me?"  
"Yes, I can hear you," he muttered, looking around. "How did I get down here?"  
"We brought you down," Joey explained, "we'd like to know how you got up there!"  
Brown sighed, "when the lights went out, I decided to check the fuse box. On my way to the cellar door, I see someone dressed in dark clothing running down the hall. I found this strange, so I followed the person. What was even stranger, they headed up the stairs, being careful that no one would see them. I followed them up quietly, all the way up. But by the time I got to the top floor, I had lost them. I was searching the attic when suddenly I was hit by something very heavy in the back of the head. It's all very blurry after that. Then I'm back down here again."  
"You mean there's an armed man hiding someone in this house right now!" Mai wailed.  
Surprisingly, Metanoia wore no expression of concern. "I wouldn't be too worried if I were you Mai."  
Brown glared at her, "but I was attacked! That's a very good reason to be afraid!" She remained stone-faced.  
McBride shook his head, "let's try to keep this quiet, so not to alarm the other guests."  
"Why should the other guest be alarmed?" Mrs. Wingfield asked suspiciously, she had been standing in the doorway.  
"Ellen!" Mrs. Calisto gasped. She paused, "Robert followed a unknown man to the upper floors, and was attacked."  
She hastily cut through the crowd of teens, her heels slipping on the wet tile floor. She gasped at the sight of him. This news was not what she wanted to hear, her eyes shown with horror.  
"Don't worry Mrs. Wingfield, we'll..." Tristen began.  
"The reason I came in here was to ask if anyone had seen my husband. I don't think he came in yet, and when I stepped out a bit to call him, there was no answer!"  
Almost instantly, McBride and the boys took off towards the door. Outside was bitter cold. The wind had picked up, and the churning snow made seeing more than a foot in front of your nose impossible.  
"Officer Wingfield!" Bakura shouted, his voice was muffled by the howling wind.  
Kaiba followed footprints back towards the cut cables, but found no one.  
Suddenly, Yugi noticed something bright red in the white snow. He followed the trail of drops, until he made a ghastly find. There lay Officer Wingfield, face down in a drift. On his head, a massive gash. The gun holder he wore on his belt was empty.  
"Guys!" Yugi screamed, "come here quick!"  
Laying just a few feet away, was a large pair of industrial wire cutters, covered in blood. 


	6. chapter 6

McBride hung up the phone despondently.  
"Well? What did EMS say?" Mrs. Wingfield asked urgently.  
"They can be here in less than two hours."  
"He should be ok until then. The cold outside cut down on swelling and bleeding" Dr. Bennington, the man in gray, informed them. "He wasn't out for very long either, he should be fine." His wife breathed a sigh of relief.  
The officer had been laid out on a couch in the living room by the fire. His injuries weren't as bad as first thought. However, he remained unconscious.  
Brown addressed the party, "in light of the recent attacks, we should stay together. The streets will be cleared soon, and as soon as they are, we should leave immediately."  
Mrs. Calisto put her hand on Mrs. Wingfield's shoulder. "Come on dear, I'll make you a nice cup of tea", the two ladies left for the kitchen.  
"Look at her" Joey whispered, pointing to Stone. She was crying, gripping the arm of her boyfriend. The teens lingered in the hallway, not wanting to her heard by the others guests.  
"Drama queen. She's behind it! Those crocodile tears are just to so she doesn't look suspicious" Tea muttered.  
"Yea, Timbers took off right after you guys went upstairs" Mai told them, "he reappeared not too long ago either."  
Kaiba looked closely at him. His brown eyes shown nervously in the firelight, as he held his whimpering girlfriend. But something wasn't quite right. "His shoes!" he cried softly.  
"What about them?" Tristen asked.  
"Kaiba's right! They aren't wet!" Bakura pointed out. "If he was just outside, they would still be wet."  
"So it couldn't have been him who attacked Officer Wingfield" Yugi mused.  
"He must have someone working for him hiding in here. The same dude who got Brown" Joey suggested.  
Metanoia played with her necklace, lost in thought.  
"You've been awful quiet," Yugi commented to her, "what's up?"  
"Nothing, just thinking" she assured them.  
"I say we go ask him a few questions" Kaiba proposed, "away from Stone."  
"But how are we going to distract her?" Tea wondered.  
Joey punched his fist into his palm, "I got it! Mai, you know a lot about clothing and girly stuff, and Stone is a fashion designer. You can go over there and talk about chick stuff with her, and that will us time to chat with Timbers!"  
Mai raised an eyebrow at him, " talk about 'chick stuff' huh?" She sighed, "if that's the best idea we can come up with than ok."  
Kaiba was watching the couple closely. Timbers nodded at Stone, then slowly walked over to the cocktail table. Brown was there too, getting more ice for his head. "He's away from her, go now" he told Mai.  
She and Tea tried not to jog as they headed over to the young woman.  
"Umm, Miss Stone? Hi, my name is Mai Valentine. I'm a rather big fan of your clothing line and I was wondering..."  
Kaiba and Yugi took the chance to speak with her boyfriend.  
"Pretty scary about Mr. Wingfield, isn't it?" Yugi asked him nonchalantly, pouring himself a soda.  
"Yea" he said, his hands shook as he mixed two drinks. "He was a big guy too. The attacker must have been an even bigger guy. Not a comforting thought."  
"No indeed" Kaiba responded coldly.  
"I just hope nothing else happens. I just want to go home and go to sleep" Brown moaned.  
  
Across the room, the others tried to read his expressions. "I don't think Yug and Kaiba are getting much out of the guy" Joey groaned.  
"Hey Bakura, move a bit more to the left" Metanoia told him.  
"How come?" he asked, backing up a bit. She followed, making herself more visible to the occupants in the other room. Her eyes darted quickly at the young man, and back to Bakura.  
"I don't want to make it look like I'm watching" she explained, taking something out of her handbag. She slowly unfolded the infamous paper, holding it carelessly in her hand. "This should get a reaction," she said slyly, not looking into the living room.  
She was right. Timbers, who had been chatting with the two boys, suddenly stopped his mixing. His attention was firmly focused on the note.  
Tristen looked down at his shoes, "I think he's seen that before" he chuckled softly.  
"We know for sure that it's his," she said quietly shrugging and putting the paper back into her bag. "I want to make him think I found it and have no clue what it is" she told them, pointing to the place where she originally picked it up.  
Timbers picked up his drinks, and hurried back over to his girlfriend. He quickly said something to her, then took off.  
  
Kaiba and Yugi returned to the group. "He left in quite a hurry" Kaiba said skeptically.  
"That wasn't such a good idea showing him that you have the paper," Yugi warned her.  
Mai and Tea joined them, "what did you find out?" Tea asked.  
"The paper belongs to Timbers" Tristen told her, "so why did he leave all of a sudden."  
Mai chuckled, "he told Stone he had to go to the bathroom."  
Joey groaned, "that's a horrible excuse! I use it to get out of class all the time."  
"So now what?" Bakura asked.  
"Now we have to tell Mr. McBride and Mrs. Calisto what we know" Yugi announced.  
Everyone agreed. Now that they had proof, Timbers and Stone could be caught.  
"I'll get them in here" Metanoia offered, "I'm make up some excuse." She headed off toward the kitchen.  
"We should keep an eye on Timbers" Kaiba suggested, "he's probably going to try to remove the drugs upstairs."  
"Wait a second" Mai interrupted, "he's over there"  
Sure enough, Timbers had returned. He smiled as Stone handed him back his drink. He kept running his hand tensely through his hair.  
"He's sweating bullets" Bakura chuckled.  
All of a sudden, a faint thud was heard from inside the kitchen, and a draft of cold air sailed through the house.  
"What was that?" Mai asked, rubbing her arms.  
"Don't know" Yugi shrugged, "boy, Metanoia is taking a long time."  
The gang wandered through the cocktail room, and into the dinning room. Surprisingly, they found McBride, Mrs. Calisto, and Mrs. Wingfield sipping tea at the dinning room table.  
"Mrs. Susan, didn't Metanoia talk to you?" Kaiba asked.  
She shook he head, "no dear. She did come in the room, but it seemed she went into the kitchen to talk with someone."  
Tea entered the room, "she's not here now. Where did she go?"  
Bakura looked down at the floor, he knelt down and picked up something.  
"What is it?" Tristen asked him.  
Bakura opened his hand, it was Metanoia's necklace. The chain had broken.  
Without warning, Stone stormed into the room. "Have you seen Brad? He's gone again!"  
The teens exchanged looks of panic. "He drags me to this stupid dinner, then keeps disappearing on me all night!" 


	7. chapter 7

"He got her! We have to find her!" Tea cried.  
Kaiba slammed his hand on the table in frustration.  
Stone looked confused, "who's got who?"  
"Ok, let's think this through," Yugi said, it was obvious he wasn't as calm as he tried to sound. "He probably took her upstairs, so he could move the evidence too."  
"No way!" Joey argued, "we were in the hall the whole time! We would have seen him."  
"Who!" Stone ordered, tried of being ignored.  
"You know very well who!" Tristen yelled at her, "your boyfriend!"  
She stared at him in shock, "what are you talking about!"  
Joey was losing his patience, "don't act all innocent! You and your boyfriend have been hiding drugs in this house, and he attacked Officer Wingfield!"  
She was so angry, she could hardly speak. "You're crazy! I was with him when Wingfield was attacked! Dr. Bennington can tell you that, and Miss Salazar! As for the drugs, I haven't the slightest clue as to what you're talking about!"  
The shouting brought McBride and Calisto into the room. "What is the problem?!" she yelled above them, something she was good at considering she worked with children.  
"Her boyfriend kidnapped Metanoia!" Joey accused her.  
Trying not the yell or talk to fast, the teens explained all about the note, drugs, and Metanoia's attempt to talk with McBride and her.  
Mrs. Calisto slumped back into a chair, "that poor girl!"  
Kaiba got right in Stone's face, "where is Timbers?!" he asked her forcefully.  
Stone was speechless, "I...don't know...he..."  
"Come on!" Yugi demanded, "We know you're involved!"  
She had tears in her eyes, "I didn't know about the drugs. Brad has been spending a lot of money lately, and he's been very mysterious about where he's gotten it. But I do know this: I would never want to hurt anybody!"  
Tristen put his hand on Kaiba's shoulder, "this isn't getting us anywhere. Let's just split up and look for her."  
Suddenly, a thought struck Bakura. He tried the door handle, it was open! "Hey guys! Check this out!" He swung open the door, leading off the stoop were new sets of footprints in the freshly fallen snow.  
"Nice going Bakura!" Yugi exclaimed, happy that they at least had a lead.  
Joey stepped outside, sinking knee deep into the snow. "She wouldn't have walked around out here voluntarily, she could barely walk down the stairs in her heels."  
Kaiba, Tristen, Bakura and Yugi joined him. "Let's follow them" Tristen suggested.  
So the boys set out into the blizzard, following the deep sets of prints.  
"Where could these possibly lead?" Bakura wondered aloud, his voice quivered.  
"Don't know, but look at this" Kaiba pointed a few yards to the left. Another set of prints joined the ones they were following. "Those must belong to the other man Timbers hired."  
Then, out of the blackness in front of them, appeared a tiny gleam of light. It came from the small broken window of an old garden house. Through the howling gale, the teens could make out a man's voice.  
"This is a really stupid move you know!" a man argued, it was obviously Timbers. "She only found the paper. She doesn't even know what isn't for! If we had just..."  
"No!" another man interrupted. His voice was oddly familiar. The boys peered through the small window, and the crack in the door. Metanoia was sitting on the floor, he hands tied behind her back, glaring at her captors. Timbers, Officer Wingfield's gun in hand, was talking to a man standing in the shadows. The man stepped out from the darkness, he was...  
"Mr. Brown!" Bakura whispered, in complete shock.  
"Shh!" the others ordered.  
Brown pointed at Metanoia angrily, "check her purse!"  
Timbers turned the silk bag upside down, a bunch of small objects fell out onto the splintering floor. Among the objects were a compact, the note, her character envelope, lipstick, a key ring, and the handkerchief package.  
"I should never have given that to her!" Kaiba mumbled under his breath.  
Brown picked it up and opened it. "Ah ha!" he showed the dime bag to Timbers, "I told you she knew more!"  
"You gave yourself away Brown" Metanoia spoke up defiantly.  
Timbers aimed the gun at her, "keep your mouth shut you..."  
Brown held up his hand to quiet him. He smiled slyly at her, "I'm curious. Tell me little lady, how did I 'give myself away', huh?"  
She looked him straight in the eye. "Your shoes were wet when we found you in the attic. You left a puddle on the kitchen floor."  
He nodded, "very good. I had just knocked out that noisy cop, then had to climb all the way up to attic on the rose fence, and I didn't even wrinkle my suit. Please continue."  
"That 'injury' you received was faked. You said your assailant came up from behind, your bruise is on your forehead."  
Brown laughed, "clever girl."  
Kaiba motioned to the others. "First chance we get, we're going in."  
Timbers was getting nervous. "Come on man, we should go. The cops are going to be at the house real soon. They're gonna search the place."  
"Very true, we should get his done quickly." Metanoia's eyes opened wide in horror.  
Timbers looked confused, "get what done? The plan was to bring her here and to warn her to keep her mouth shut about..."  
Brown laughed cruelly.  
"But the plan..."  
"Has been changed!" he shouted. Without warning, he snatched the gun from his partner. "The new 'plan' will go something like this: I take care of the pink lady here, and I go back to the party. Of course, I'll go in some empty room and pretend to have fainted due to my head injury. You my friend are going to start heading for the border. The cops will be onto you, but there's no evidence against me..." he looked down at the girl, "once I get rid of her." Terror stricken, she began to flail violently, trying to free her arms.  
"Why you back-stabbing jerk!" Timbers cried, lunging at Brown. The two began fighting over the gun.  
"Now!" the boy signaled. They swung open the door, surprising the two men. Joey grabbed Timbers from around the neck, while Tristen and Yugi seized Brown. Kaiba struggled to get the gun out of both their hands.  
"I'm glad to see you guys!" Metanoia said happily to Bakura, who was trying to untie her. Just as her hands were freed, Brown stuck out his foot, tripping Tristen. The teen crashed into Kaiba, sending both to the floor. With little effort, he pushed Yugi away. The man stepped back, scanning the room with the weapon. Everyone froze.  
He chuckled softly, "well, now that I have you boys here too, you can join your friend." He aimed the gun straight for Metanoia.  
"No!" Bakura cried, knocking the girl out of the way. The bullet grazed past his shoulder, leaving a small hole and puff of smoke in the wall.  
"What the?!" Brown gasped, holding out the gun to try again. Yugi dove at Brown's legs, sending him tumbling to the floor. Joey grabbed the loose gun. In no time, the boys had him pinned. In the fray, Timbers made an attempt to sneak out.  
Joey aimed the weapon at him, "and just where do you think you're going?"  
"Wheeler, the safety latch in on" Kaiba instructed him, still holding Brown.  
Joey switched a little latch on the side of the barrel, "there goes that dramatic moment" he muttered. 


	8. chapter 8

Mrs. Calisto held the young girl in a bear hug. "I was so worried dear!"  
Everyone was back inside the warm house in front of the roaring fire. The plows and police had arrived shortly after Brown and Timbers' capture.   
Metanoia tried to loosen the woman's death grip, "I'm fine Mrs. Susan. You know me, I can always get out of trouble." She smiled at her new friends, "thanks to you guys."  
Yugi scratched his head, "awww, it was nothing."  
Bakura handed her the necklace, "I believe you dropped this."  
She smiled, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "That's two I owe you" she laughed.  
Bakura blushed. The girls giggled.  
"Plus, I dropped it on purpose. I went to talk to Mrs. Susan, when Brown called me into the kitchen. He said he found something outside that I should see. I left my necklace here in case something happened."  
Mrs. Calisto reached over and hugged Kaiba too, "I'm just glad you're all ok." Seto tried to keep his tough guy composure, but he had to at least smile.  
McBride came running into the room. "Good news everyone! Officer Wingfield is awake, and is expected to make a full recovery!"  
They followed him into the living room, where EMS workers were securing the injured man onto a stretcher. He smiled when he saw them. "I owe you kids some thank yous" he told them. Mrs. Wingfield was with him, looking very relieved. His smiled faded, "I also have some explaining to do."  
"What do you mean?" Yugi asked him.  
"The reason I was at the party, other than the fact Susan invited me, was to keep an eye on Timbers. My unit suspected him a drug trafficking. But we had to keep this information quiet, because we also expected someone on the inside was trafficking too."  
"And Brown works for the town. He even had a key to the house" Metanoia added.  
"That's right" Wingfield confirmed. "So I pretended to be investigating Miss Stone." He smiled again, "at least we got our man."  
"Yea!" Joey chimed in, "and they wouldn't have gotten away with it too if it weren't for us meddling kids!" Everyone groaned. He turned to Yugi, "by the way man, what was that thing you found upstairs? You know, on the back of the picture?"  
"The writing? Well, it was a riddle. Let me think...it went something like 'What falls but never breaks, and what breaks but never falls?'"  
"A very strong vase?" Tristen suggested.  
"The picture was an old one. With a young woman and an older man with a white beard in it" Yugi added. He looked at the portrait above the mantle, "that's the man there."  
"That could be General Kearny and his daughter Marie" McBride told them, he had read up a bit on the history of the house and its first owner.  
Metanoia played with her necklace, a habit she had while thinking. Suddenly, she thought of something. "Night and Day" she said. She showed everyone the pictures on the charm, a sun and moon with stars. "The answer is Night and Day!"  
"Mokuba did find the necklace in the house, maybe its answer to the riddle" Tea proposed.  
Mai nodded, "there is a legend about a treasure. The necklace could be the way to find it."  
Metanoia looked at the portrait, then the mantle right below it. The same picture as the necklace was on the fireplace top, along with an empty space. She took it off, "check this out." She put the charm in the empty place, and pushed it in further. A latch opened in the underside of the mantle, and a small sack dropped out.   
Tristen picked it up and peered inside. "Whoa! Look at this!" The bag was filled with cut gemstones, some in jewelry, some loose.  
"The Kearny treasure!" McBride exclaimed.  
Tristen handed the bag to Metanoia, "you figured the riddle out. I guess these are yours."  
She smiled, but instead, handed them to McBride. "Stone wants the rent so bad, she's gonna get it."   
"Which reminds me" Kaiba added. "Since Stone is so set on making money off of the property, I'm sure she won't refuse my offer to buy it," he grinned   
Mrs. Calisto was close to tears, "I'm so proud of both of you!" She threw her arms around both of them.  
Tristen sighed, "I just love happy endings."  
Metanoia laughed, "speaking of endings...". She took out her envelope out of her bag, turned the pages and showed the group. "According to this, I'm the killer!"  
  
THE END  
  
So what did ya think? R&R please! Come on, show me the love! Lol...oh btw, Metanoia means "change of heart" hence the card as a clue. 


End file.
